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The Book of Sea Monsters: Leviathans of Literature
A fascinating and beautifully illustrated journey across the world and through the centuries in search of the sea monster.
'They rave for food with unceasing frenzy, being always ahungered and never abating the gluttony of their terrible maw.' Pliny the Elder
This absorbing exploration of the sea monster in all its tentacular forms is a deep dive into the world of sirens, mermaids, Scylla and kraken from 3C BCE to the modern day. Told through writings from ancient myths, early scientific natural histories and iconic literature, tales are intertwined with wonderful engravings, diagrams and paintings. These accounts give a unique perspective on the histories of societies and cultures around the world, taking in significant events like the Age of Sail, the Enlightenment and Darwinian evolution.
With their excess size, claws, tentacles and bloodlust, monsters represent our greatest the unknown, the dark, the natural world and even ourselves. As stories passed from generation to generation, they were analogues for dangerous weather events, foreign invaders, enemy nations, physical phenomena and real animals.
Prema Arasu brings together excerpts from Filipino, Polynesian and Aboriginal Australian myths, Beowulf, Moby-Dick and many other works by authors such as Homer, HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Jules Verne, HG Wells… Each is brought to life with an introduction and beautifully gory artwork, making this a gorgeous book that's sure to draw you in and drag you down…
'They rave for food with unceasing frenzy, being always ahungered and never abating the gluttony of their terrible maw.' Pliny the Elder
This absorbing exploration of the sea monster in all its tentacular forms is a deep dive into the world of sirens, mermaids, Scylla and kraken from 3C BCE to the modern day. Told through writings from ancient myths, early scientific natural histories and iconic literature, tales are intertwined with wonderful engravings, diagrams and paintings. These accounts give a unique perspective on the histories of societies and cultures around the world, taking in significant events like the Age of Sail, the Enlightenment and Darwinian evolution.
With their excess size, claws, tentacles and bloodlust, monsters represent our greatest the unknown, the dark, the natural world and even ourselves. As stories passed from generation to generation, they were analogues for dangerous weather events, foreign invaders, enemy nations, physical phenomena and real animals.
Prema Arasu brings together excerpts from Filipino, Polynesian and Aboriginal Australian myths, Beowulf, Moby-Dick and many other works by authors such as Homer, HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Jules Verne, HG Wells… Each is brought to life with an introduction and beautifully gory artwork, making this a gorgeous book that's sure to draw you in and drag you down…
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 7, 2025
The Book of Sea Monsters is a look into the sea monsters of Euro-centric literature starting with the Babylonians and progressing chronologically up until 1929 under Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The book is less a nonfiction glimpse into these characters and stories but more a compilation of short stories, poetry and extracts of stories all thrown in together. Each chapter is dedicated to one author with an intro about the author and included work while depending upon the included work there may just be one entry or several.
Scattered throughout are photographs and copies of artwork from various sources all with captions. And most of these illustrations are not exclusive to the author or work in which they are portrayed along.
This book should be a pass if you are looking for an informative read but does wonderfully for those who like to come upon older and more obscure fictional works, especially of horror or sci-fi.
The book is less a nonfiction glimpse into these characters and stories but more a compilation of short stories, poetry and extracts of stories all thrown in together. Each chapter is dedicated to one author with an intro about the author and included work while depending upon the included work there may just be one entry or several.
Scattered throughout are photographs and copies of artwork from various sources all with captions. And most of these illustrations are not exclusive to the author or work in which they are portrayed along.
This book should be a pass if you are looking for an informative read but does wonderfully for those who like to come upon older and more obscure fictional works, especially of horror or sci-fi.
February 15, 2026
This is an intriguing book, part literary exploration of sea monsters through the ages as portrayed in literature and part showcase for those authors works.
The book itself pretty starts at the dawn of written literature and ends around the time of Lovecraft and Wells (there is an explaination for this in the preface).
The book champions a peice of writing, explains where and when it was created and by whom as well as bit about the world in was created from.
Then it goes on to either showcase an example in its entirity or selects a passage that focuses on the sea monster that gained it its place in this book. A fascinating journey through the ages and one I would love to see applied to other topics as well.
The book itself pretty starts at the dawn of written literature and ends around the time of Lovecraft and Wells (there is an explaination for this in the preface).
The book champions a peice of writing, explains where and when it was created and by whom as well as bit about the world in was created from.
Then it goes on to either showcase an example in its entirity or selects a passage that focuses on the sea monster that gained it its place in this book. A fascinating journey through the ages and one I would love to see applied to other topics as well.
December 25, 2025
I sat down and read this for an hour and smiled the whole time!
February 25, 2026
Such a wonderful book! The sea remains the most mysterious place on earth. We still don't know what lurks far beneath the waves.
Arasu has compiled writings from across the centuries about the sea and the beasts - real and imagined - that make the oceans their home. From Babylonian myths to the earliest science fiction, the excerpts introduced me to tales I had only glimpses of in the past. Now I have a new list of authors and books to track down!
Arasu has compiled writings from across the centuries about the sea and the beasts - real and imagined - that make the oceans their home. From Babylonian myths to the earliest science fiction, the excerpts introduced me to tales I had only glimpses of in the past. Now I have a new list of authors and books to track down!
November 11, 2025
A beautifully curated anthology of works pertaining to sea monsters and the horrors of the oceans!
April 8, 2026
Compilation of excerpts of books I’d probably never read otherwise
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews